Cindybelle's Bella Notte TR COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 10/19 With Prices! About This Page:

[SuperDave]

Thanks Cindy. More great photos and info. Great travel tips too. Many of these tips from Rick Steves' guide books and programs. Familiar with ta lot of this.

I can see why Venezians don't like that new bridge. Doesn't fit in at all with the historic city. It's hideous and I hate it. I hope I never come across it over there on my next trip.

Glad we both agree on the Rick Steve's travel philosophy. Although, packing light I don't always do, especially when travelling to WDW. Although on my Rick Steve's tour in Italy, three years ago I most certainly did. Especially in Venice. Carrying a lot of luggage in this city would not be fun, considering how crowded it can get.

I always liked Rick Steves saying to get lost in Venice. I tried that the last time and it worked. As he says, remember you're on an island... and if you really do get lost here, look for the signs for San Marco, Rialto etc. Always signs around for these and other popular landmarks. Just look for the closest one of where you need to go. A map never hurts either.

I absolutely, have enjoyed reading your TR on Italy. For one who has experienced Italy on a couple of trips, you really deposited the reader there. Great work and I look forward to a few more tidbits on your trip and others in the future. Well done!!!

[cindybelle]

Can you tell I've been putting this off? Kind of silly, since I've been home for a month now -- but I hate to bring my story to an end.

Considering we only had a day-and-a-half in Venezia, we felt quite satisfied with what we saw and experienced. Absolutely loved the Doges Palace and highly recommend the Secret Itineraries Tour there.

Saturday morning, we had our final breakfast out on the Locanda San Barnaba's lovely outdoor terrace and then took all our stuff out for what was just a 15-minute trek to the bus/taxi area. (By now, we knew the way. ) I managed to sneak a few more photos. I can't swear that these two were taken that morning, but what the heck -- you can't have too many photos of Venice, can you?








It was nice that our outbound flight to Philadelphia was scheduled for 11:15 a.m., so we didn't have to kill ourselves getting to the airport. We took a taxi for about 40 Euros (and that included the tip) -- we could have taken a bus for less money, but we'd saved enough by not taking a water taxi that we felt we'd earned the slight splurge.

Of course, once we arrived at the airport we discovered that our flight would be about an hour late, which is why the attendant at US Airways suggested changing our second flight from Philly-Charlotte to Philly-Chicago, which meant arriving in St. Louis a couple hours later than we'd hoped. We said OK, but as I told you in my "tips" post, we made up some time in the air and arrived pretty much on time in Philly, so Rick had the agent there change us back to Philly-Charlotte. That meant getting to St. Louis around 9:00 p.m.

Arriverci, Venezia!











The first flight was OK, especially considering it was the longest one. They showed the Sandra Bullock movie "The Proposal" which was cute and funny enough to kill a couple hours. Then I wrote like mad, and poor Robbie kept quiet as she tried to sleep off her cold.

The second flight, which we ran to catch, was better than OK -- the back of the plane was empty, so we could spread out. Of course, it was only a 1.5 hour flight from Philly to Charlotte.

Then we grabbed a sandwich in Charlotte -- all feeling pretty woozy and a little nauseous. The final flight from Charlotte to St. Louis was (finally) after darkness had fallen, and even I was ready to succumb to sleep. But the flight was completely full and there was an obnoxious, drunk woman on board who was so noisy, she made sleep impossible for all of us except Rick, who leaned his head against the window and sawed logs. Since he was our designated driver from the St. Louis airport to home, we didn't mind.

As I said before, the flights are pretty horrible, but it's part of the price you pay. Certainly we weren't going to complain -- what a fantastic trip we'd enjoyed.
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[Colexis Mom]

Great final pictures Cindy!

[cindybelle]

You didn't think I was done, did you?

"Trip of a lifetime" certainly comes to mind, although we hope to get back to Italy one day. We always hope to return to favorite destinations, but time, money, and the whole wide world often make that unlikely. Robbie would like to go to Germany, and I'm just the gal to make sure that happens -- but with two grandsons due in March (and in Houston), Paul and Robbie aren't likely to be flying off to Europe anytime soon. I'd also like to see France and Great Britain someday. And there are other destinations in Italy I'd like to visit, like the Cinque Terra.

And of course I'll have to get to WDW a time or two. So return trips to Roma, Firenze, Pisa, or Venetia are way, way down the list for me -- but my memories will be full of the warm, hospitable people, the delightful places we stayed, the great meals we shared, and the incredible art and architecture we experienced.

Arriverderci, Italia!

Vatican Museum, Roma:



Duomo, Firenze:



Cemetery Museum, Pisa:



Doge's Palace, Venezia:



Colosseum, Roma:



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[Colexis Mom]

Great finish Cindy! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

[pamcarey]

Great finish! I enjoyed your TR so much! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us!

[goofysdtr]

Wow, Cindy.

Thanks so much for taking us along on your wonderful adventure! I have truly enjoyed every bit.

[duck addict]

for sharing your trip.

[SuperDave]

Great finish to your TR di Italia Cindy. Loved it all. One thing I was surprised about is that you din't have any photos of Piazza San Marco. Well, at least not the square itself with the tourists, cafe and pigeons. Not the typical tourists. Some tourists, that's all they have of Venezia. Loved all of your photos. Actually, San Marco is a great place at night, to sit outside one of the cafes and the orchestras and big band music. Even if the prices for drinks are expensive here, it's worth it just for the atmosphere and scenery.

[lauriep]

What a fantastic report. Thank you so much for posting the photos and descriptions. I'm sorry it's over, but what fun it's been!

[cindybelle]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Great finish to your TR di Italia Cindy. Loved it all. One thing I was surprised about is that you din't have any photos of Piazza San Marco. Well, at least not the square itself with the tourists, cafe and pigeons. Not the typical tourists. Some tourists, that's all they have of Venezia. Loved all of your photos. Actually, San Marco is a great place at night, to sit outside one of the cafes and the orchestras and big band music. Even if the prices for drinks are expensive here, it's worth it just for the atmosphere and scenery.

You want San Marco with pigeons? Hang on a minute -- here's one:




That piazza was crowded with tourists, so we got the heck out of there as fast as we could!
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[SuperDave]

Thanks Cindy. I usually avoided the area myself during the day, during my visits there. But it's really something special at night. All the tourist buses have left and it's not crowded at all. The pigeons are gone too. It really is a great place to spend some time after an Italian meal magnifico!

[ccmom]

I've really, really enjoyed this report. Such beautiful pictures. That's the first picture of Venice from the air I've seen. The water looks so flat, which I guess is a good thing.

[PrincessSharon]

Great finish, Cindy! I really enjoyed your TR and will be rereading it before I head to Italy myself in 2011. And you may get a PM or two from me with questions! Thanks for sharing!

[cindybelle]

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Great finish, Cindy! I really enjoyed your TR and will be rereading it before I head to Italy myself in 2011. And you may get a PM or two from me with questions! Thanks for sharing!

Sharon, you know I'm always happy to help anyone who's willing to admit they're as Doofy4Goofy as I am!